You Can ‘Say Goodbye To These,’ Because Carl’s Jr. Is Doing Away With Sexy Burger Ads

If there are two things Carls’ Jr. is known for, it’s the fast food chain’s ridiculously indulgent burgers, and the T&A they use to advertise them. (Okay, three things.) Over the years, models and assorted celebrities such as Kate Upton, Heidi Klum, Ronda Rousey, Paris Hilton, and Kim Kardashian (who was relegated to salad because she was apparently not good at eating a burger), as well as countless others have shilled for the burger chain, usually posed scantily clad holding a greasy, dripping burger — which is a lot more sexy if you don’t imagine the spit buckets used between takes.

Well, you can say goodbye to these, Michael, because the era of Carl’s Jr. gratuitous ads has finally come to an end after more than a decade. In a new campaign spoofing the chain’s sexy past (above), a fake CEO named “Carl Hardee Sr.” comes storming in to take back the business from his irresponsible, playboy caricature of a son, by reminding him of the chain’s humble roots of being the “pioneers of the great American burger.”

Even the company’s logo is getting a more mature, grown up look. Going forward, the yellow star will no longer have a happy face in the middle, and the red and white lettering will be replaced with black.

Interestingly enough, prior to his death in 2008, Carl’s Jr. founder Carl Karcher was reportedly “heartbroken” that the company he founded on Christian principles had taken such a sexual turn with its advertising. The ads have also been plagued with sexist criticism going back for years, so it seems as if this was a long time coming.